The Lost Treasure of King Juba

by Joseph, Frank

• ISBN13: 9781591430063
• ISBN10: 1591430062
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-03-25
• Publisher: Bear & Co

Summary

The story of a mysterious southern Illinois treasure cave and its proof of the presence of Africans in North America long before Columbus.

• Includes over 100 photographs of the artifacts discovered.

• Re-creates the historic voyage of King Juba and his Mauretanian sailors across the Atlantic to rebuild their society in the New World.

• Explains the mystery of the Washitaws, a tribal group of African origin, first encountered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

In 1982 Russell E. Burrows, a treasure hunter in southern Illinois, stumbled on a cache of ancient weapons, jewels, and gold sarcophagi in a remote cave. There also were stone tablets inscribed with illustrations of Roman-like soldiers, Jews, early Christians, and West African sailors. These relics fueled a bitter controversy in the archaeological community regarding their authenticity, leading Burrows to destroy the entrance to the cave.

Researching more than 7,000 artifacts removed from the cave before it was sealed, Frank Joseph explains how these objects came to be buried in the middle of the United States. It started with Cleopatra, whose daughter was made queen of the semi-independent realm of Mauretania, present-day Morocco, which she ruled with her husband, King Juba II. Following the execution of their son, Ptolemy, by Emperor Caligula, the Mauretanians rebelled against their Roman overlords and made their way into what is now Ghana. There they constructed a fleet of ships for a transatlantic voyage to a land where they hoped to rebuild their kingdom safe from Roman rule. They took with them a great prize unsuccessfully sought by two Roman emperors: Cleopatra's golden treasure and King Juba's encyclopedic library of ancient wisdom.

Fully illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs of artifacts retrieved from the southern Illinois site, The Lost Treasure of King Juba is a compelling story that could force us to rethink the early history of our nation and the possibility that Africans arrived on our continent nearly fifteen centuries before Columbus.

Author Biography

<p><strong>The Lost Treasure of Juba</strong><br /><em>The Evidence of Africans in America before Columbus</em></p><p><em>Introduction: A Shattering Revelation</em><br />1--It All Started with Cleopatra<br />2--Mauretania<br />3--SPQR: For the Senate and People of Rome<br />4--Caligula: A Mind Abused<br />5--Claudius: The Failed Peacemaker<br />6--Escape or Die<br />7--Discovery in Southern Illinois<br />8--Gold, Archaeological and Otherwise<br />9--Find or Fraud of the Century?<br />10--Fire in the Hole<br />11--Where Is the Cave?<br />12--The Pasture of Fools<br />13--The Testimony of the Past<br />14--A Rooster Speaks<br />15--Lost Coins and Buried Treasure<br />16--Epilogue: The Moment of Truth<br /><em>Appendix 1: A Mauretanian Time Line<br />Appendix 2: Ancient Stone Maps<br />Notes<br />Bibliography<br /></em></p>

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction: A Shattering Revelation	1	(2)
It All Started with Cleopatra	3	(18)
Mauretania	21	(18)
SPQR: For the Senate and People of Rome	39	(7)
Caligula: A Mind Abused	46	(6)
Claudius: The Failed Peacemaker	52	(7)
Escape or Die	59	(10)
Discovery in Southern Illinois	69	(9)
Gold, Archaeological and Otherwise	78	(12)
Find or Fraud of the Century?	90	(25)
Fire in the Hole	115	(21)
Where Is the Cave?	136	(14)
The Pasture of Fools	150	(15)
The Testimony of the Past	165	(9)
A Rooster Speaks	174	(25)
Lost Coins and Buried Treasure	199	(16)
Epilogue: The Moment of Truth	215	(4)
Appendix 1: A Mauretanian Time Line	219	(4)
Appendix 2: Ancient Stone Maps	223	(6)
Notes	229	(8)
Bibliography	237